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Tag: norway

April6th

Norway with a single-payer system gives universal quality coverage for approximately one-third less money per resident vs. the United States. Practitioners are more productive from less paperwork with one plan. I know, having worked here and there as a physical therapist.

The taxes the letter writer refers to also cover universal benefits like short- and long-term disability and 10 months paid maternity/paternity leave. Also included is universally guaranteed four weeks of vacation and tuition-free public colleges and universities, including a living expense grant.

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April4th

Comparing the United States with Norway is like comparing apples and bicycles. Norway’s population is about the size of Alabama. It is simply not realistic to suggest that the U.S. could develop a health care system similar to that of a small European country.

Our federal government has become too big and bureaucratic to run anything efficiently, including itself. Medicare is a mess, and President Obama is in the process of cutting military benefits so he can preserve entitlements for his cronies.

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April4th

I too have lived in Norway. However, the laudable health care system in Norway comes at a price: taxes, and lots of them.

According to Wikipedia.com, in 2009 the total tax revenue was 41 percent of Norway’s GDP. The tax level in Norway has fluctuated between 40 and 45 percent of GDP since the 1970s. Individuals are taxed up to 47.8 percent, payrolls are taxed up to 14.1percent and the value-added tax is at 25 percent for most purchases.

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April3rd

By chance or design, articles that appeared Tuesday displayed the shame of American health care, topped out by Dr. Daniel J. Stone’s article on our disgraceful “free-market” health system. Yes, we can obtain world-best health care – if we can afford it. But the United Nations ranks U.S. health care as 37th! It is much exceeded by European countries’.

My wife and I lived in Norway’s system two years. Their system assures the best possible health care: single-payer (the government) pays for whatever is best care. Doctors can opt out and charge whatever they want, but competition keeps their …

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July25th

“I missed the part where we became the bad guys,” exclaimed Gunaratnam, one of the young survivors of the Norwegian mass murder spree (TNT, 7-24).

She is too young to understand this propensity toward clan mentality, xenophobia, fear, prejudice, greed and the drive to subjugate or, if that won’t suffice, destroy.

This Norwegian murderer, whose target was liberals, is described by the police as a “right-wing Christian fundamentalist.” He is just the latest in the hate-flooded litany of extreme conservative ideology.

It’s time to call a spade a spade. It was the epitome of extreme conservatism – fascism – …

July25th

“Why do they hate us so much?” “They hate our values and our freedom.” “He represents the real ideals of his religion, an ideology of hate.”

Will Christian fundamentalists who make such judgments about “Muslim terrorists” apply the same standards to their own? Or will they use a double standard and dismiss this act of “Christian terrorism” as an aberration committed by a lunatic?

The truth is, of course, that this man really is a lunatic. He no more represents the values of …

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July25th

I feel certain that I represent many Christian readers who are horrified by what took place in Norway last week. It is beyond the pale in every way; it is impossible even to imagine the terror experienced by the young people on that island.

As the story unfolds, I’m sure we will discover that the man behind this massacre was either terribly ill or evil. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.

Of course I am distressed to see him labeled as a “Christian conservative,” because I know it will be like gasoline thrown on a fire for some readers …